7.18.2013

essentials: heat wave edition

well, here we are: it is now officially too hot to care about dressing well.

ever since temps hit the 90s-and-above range i've been obsessively sticking to a sweat-defensive uniform. currently wearing the hell out of my two linen t-shirts and am contemplating getting a few more on the cheap from the ongoing sales.

also, 5 things that's quintessentially summer in NYC to me:

if it looks too good to be true, it is. i.e.: that one spacious train car during subway rush hour because it's sans air conditioning.

getting dripped on by high-rise window-unit ACs while walking on the sidewalk.

women of all ages matter-of-factly rocking denim cutoffs everywhere.

mid-afternoon ice cream/soft-serve pit stops.

getting tickets to the US Open.*

*seeing a Grand Slam tennis match live has been a longtime dream of mine. hoping to finally get the logistics together this year!

what are you living in these days? what is quintessentially summer where you are?

I was DYING during my day in New York. For me, hot weather means a long, loose dress or skirt. You would think the additional fabric would make you even hotter but I find that it helps to not being totally exposed to the baking sun (jeans or anything that hangs remotely close the body would be a totally different story though).

Good luck getting those tickets!My summer in Delhi is all about fresh mangoes, ikat cotton dresses, delicate gold jewelry and aviators. Also it's a great time for me to hunker indoors - too hot to be outside - and catch up on my reading.

People in the UK go berserk when faced with any kind of extreme weather (apparently 760 people have died already in this heatwave) so the whole country is in uproar. For me, hot sunny days are all about denim cutoffs and boxy, oversized tops so my shoulders and arms don't sunburn, with my Ray Ban Clubmasters (prescription, of course) and saltwater sandals. For those not expiring because the temperature has reached 25C, summer is cold cider in beer gardens and crowded beaches and parks.

It's really interesting to have a peek at somebody's everyday life through these seasonal details! Here in Paris, summer is cocktails and slow lunches on terrasses, light and colourful linen tees, self brewed iced tea and flavoured water, scents of ripe fruit and lavender and fresh flowers, rosé wine, ultra fresh with ice, a fast-speed train ticket to the Southern region of Provence.

Erm, there hasn't been a Summer here for 3 years :-) Hard to remember what's typical around where I am! We've had such warm weather for *so long* now in UK (requiring multiple daily showers and outfit changes), I had to break out my emergency Summer wear which is usually stuff I only get to wear on holiday - linen or cotton shirt and safari dresses, slouchy viscose tees, flared skirts, light linen pants and crisp cotton shirts (can't do without the tailoring however hot!).Good luck with going to the US Open - would be amazing!!!

Here in Florence, Summer is basically one long, uninterrupted heatwave that lasts from May until September..So it's ice cream or granita every day, lemon ice tea, watermelon and lots of salads and pasta salads. Summer also means day trips to the beach, working on your tan, wearing linen/cotton/silk light coloured clothes, paired with flat sandals and lots of colourful bracelets.

It's monsoon season here in the desert so I've pretty much put function over style as it's just too hot and stormy. I've resorted to airy cotton dresses (nothing man-made or else it's a sweaty mess), sandals, and putting my hair into a ponytail while it's wet as I've yet to learn how to tame the giant, frizzy mess that is its current natural state.

Good luck with the US Open! I was there last year, and it was a dream come true for me! I chose to go last year and JOKED that it could be Andy Roddick's last year to play and I've never seen him play. And true enough, it was! It was a great, but bittersweeet experience, I was very emotional during his last match (embarrassingly so, actually). But anyway, let us know here or on Twitter if you finally decide to go!

Summer or shall I say hot weather, because one doesn't necessarily equal the other, in Paris is being constantly surrounded by all kind of tourists (including pickpockets!), having the vital fan always at hand because AC is non-existent in public transportations and most places in the city, drinking gallon after gallon of San Pellegrino sparkling water, eating all kind of ice creams, finding shades in the gardens and parks, having the pleasure of actually wearing only in the summer clothes (shorts, sandals, loose dresses)...

I've been thinking of replacing my cotton tees with linen ones for this very reason! It was so brutally hot and humid, and now it's all loveliness. I'm even considering wearing pants for the first time in weeks! I'm also a fan of cotton gauze tops, and anything that catches a breeze.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your US Open tickets. We go every year and it's one of my favorite end of summer activities. It's always a nice distraction from the craziness of the September and October for me. There's nothing like seeing a live match...

Summer in NYC is all about long evening walks around my gorgeous neighborhood, reading in various secret & private gardens, fresh fruit, cooling off with fruit sorbets, iced tea, and sparkling water infused with fruits and herbs, showing off sun kissed skin, sailing, fierce tennis matches, picnics, and weekends in Sag Harbor.

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